CCP Games, the world’s leading independent developer of massively multiplayer games, today named Owen O’Brien as executive producer of EVE: Valkyrie
a new virtual-reality spaceship dogfighting game in development at the company’s Newcastle, UK studio. As executive producer O’Brien will oversee all aspects of EVE: Valkyrie’s production.

“I worked with Owen for many years at DICE,” said Sean Decker, senior vice president of production at CCP. “His experience bringing Mirror’s Edge to market will be invaluable as we work to make virtual reality an actual reality for gamers worldwide.”

EVE: Valkyrie is a multiplayer spaceship dogfighting shooter set in the EVE universe. The game uses virtual reality to give players the sense of being a real pilot in an EVE Online spaceship and will be released in 2014. The game is the evolution of “EVE-VR,” the amazing virtual-reality tech demo that debuted at EVE Fanfest 2013 and went on to win numerous awards at E3 and gamescom 2013 — including “Game of E3 2013” from PC Gamer and “Most Innovative” from IGN.

O’Brien will report to Decker and will be based at the company’s Newcastle studio.

“The opportunity to work with a focused, talented and passionate team at the forefront of game-changing technology is a dream scenario for me,” said O’Brien. “But it’s not just about the technology. This was a project born out of a genuine passion for gaming, and that shows in what the team has already achieved.”